Let the fun begin...

We are kind of in a time crunch to get Gray potty trained by the time preschool starts in September. I am kind of having my doubts as to the success of this because Gray is only 3 but we are going to give it our best shot. We are starting with sitting on his Cars 2 potty once a day. I give him a ton of drinks while he sits. No success yet but hopefully it is right around the corner. Joey told him he would take him to Walmart to buy a toy if he goes. Gray decided he wants Lightening, Mater, and McMissle! Good luck to me!

Scary hair!!

Yesterday when I was getting ready Nash was hanging out with me in my bathroom. He was staring at me and then said "Your hair scares me when it is down. I want you to put it up in a ponytail." Hmmm- so glad I take all the time to get ready. I should just throw my hair up in hopes I am not frightening my Nash. Gotta love the honesty of a 4 year old!

Science Camp

At the beginning of the summer I started to worry that I would be hearing "I'm bored" a million times a day. So I signed them up for a science camp through the school district. It is for two weeks, M-F from 8:30- 12:30pm. The kids were looking forward to fun experiments and I was looking forward to a little structure. When Luke came home the first day he said "Mom- that is just like school!". Needless to say he was not happy. Thankfully for both of our sakes, it has gotten better. They finished day 3 of 10 today and have not complained again. I am so grateful that they get to have these fun experiences while learning along the way!

Cousin Time!

Nathan and Kaydan were able to come up and stay for a few weeks. It was so fun! Even though they are all different ages, they play so well together. This is besides the time when the older boys rigged Harlee's dolls to make them seem alive. They were trying to scare the little ones. It worked! My kids would not go down to the basement for a week! So grateful that all these cousins get to grow up together. Such a blessing.

3 long days and then the answer came!

On Wednesday night Luke and I searched the house for Gray's Lankie! He loves his blanket and struggles at night without it. We are so lucky to have such a huge house but it takes quite a while to search for a little blanket in such a big space. After looking in each room we still could not find the blanket. This search continued each day as well as Gray's sad requests for his blanket. This morning I sent a text to my friend Kelly who bought the blanket for him 3 years ago. I know her sister in law made it and I wondered if she could make him another just like it. While I waited to hear back I kept searching. I decided to tear apart the couch since they had taken all the pillows off on Wednesday. I had done this already on Thursday but thought I would check one more time. I took all the pillows off and could not find it. I decided to take this opportunity to clean out all the garbage the kids hide in the cushions. As I was vacuuming I was praying that I would find the blanket. I had a strange thought to look inside of the big cushions. They each have a zipper to make them easy to throw in the washer. I unzipped two and no luck. The third pillow I checked contained the much loved blanket. I could not believe it! I would have never thought to check those pillows and I just KNOW that I was guided by a loving Heavenly Father. The look on Gray's face when I showed him the blanket was priceless. I am so grateful we were able to find it and look forward to a much happier Gray at bedtime tonight!

Fourth of July

We were lucky to have Jamie's family join us for a bbq and fireworks on the 4th. It was so much fun to spend time with them. We had some yummy food, hung out for a while, then headed to our usual spot to watch the Thanksgiving Pointe fireworks. By the time they started, Tag and Gray were asleep in our laps but the other kids loved watching them. From where we were sitting you could see the whole valley and so many fireworks going off. It was so pretty. So grateful for family time and so grateful for all those who fight to make our freedom possible. *whenever I see a picture of our family I wonder how we got here. Never thought we would have so many children, so many blessings.

Our Fourth of July Tradition

As many 4th of July's passed, we decided to go hiking. We got the kids ready and went back to Battle Creek Falls in Pleasant Grove. Last year Tag was so little and we only made it part way. This year we were determined to make it all the way to the falls and they did not disappoint. Besides a few "hold me's" and "I'm so tired's" we had a really good time. The kids loved getting wet and playing in the falls. Tag wanted to jump right out of our arms and join his older siblings in the water. As we hiked back I walked at the back of the pack. I looked ahead of me and saw all of my most important blessings. I was a little overwhelmed in that moment at how lucky I am to have all of them. I love these times we get to enjoy together as a family. So lucky!

Our New Car- A YuKon Denali XL

So we were kind of forced into making a decision to purchase a new car but I think we were guided to the perfect new vehicle for our family. We test drove a few and the Denali was our favorite. Once we decided on the kind of car we wanted, in true Childs form we searched for a deal! The one we test drove was $24K and we found one in Richfield Utah with the same amount of miles for $15K! We actually like the color and the interior so much better on this one. So Joey drove down one Saturday and loved it. We got the loan and drove down the following Saturday to pick it up! The people we bought it from were so nice and we just are so excited. I was so nervous at first because it is so big, but I am loving it now. The kids love it too! Let's see how long we can keep it clean! I truly feel that so many blessings have come out of this accident and I just know that Heavenly Father is watching over our family. We are so blessed!

The perks of living in the mountains...

I have posted before pictures of our little friends that wander down the mountain to hang out in our backyard. We have had deer, a turkey, many squirrels, snakes, and now bunnies! The kids are so excited. I would so take a bunny over a snake any day! So cute!

Friendship Bracelets are back!

A couple weeks ago we were going to enjoy a little craft family time. We were going to buy supplies to make the cool new bracelets that are so in right now. Well, we were on our way when we got in our car accident. So on Wednesday we decided to try again. The kids were so excited to make these but they were very complicated. Can you guess who made each of them a bracelet? Mom of the year!! The kids loved them for about a minute- a little shorter than the hour it took me to make each one! So funny the trends that keep coming back. I should have just kept mine from so many years ago! Could have saved me some time!!

Is Today Tomorrow?

"Is today tomorrow?" This is a question I get several times a day from our Nashie. He loves to talk and he is always asking tons of questions. This question is so hard to explain to him in a way he will understand. Joey took him with him to wash the car and the whole time he was asking Joey about this concept. What a smart and curious little boy!